About Me

Monday, December 28, 2009

Huli is a speciality from Karnataka. You might find preparations little similar to Sambar. Huli has its unique, awesome taste. Beetroot adds high nutrition value to this curry. Another wonderful thing about this recipe is; it does not require ghee or oil. So this is surely one tasty and healthy recipe. I normally make dry cabbage sabji along with this curry. Hot beetroot huli, rice and cabbage sabji forms a fantastic combination.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Chirstmas everybody!! May 2010 bring all of you much more happiness and prosperity. On this special occasion I would like to share this lovely gift from Asha. Thanks a bunch Asha. Your gift has made my new year celebrations more special!!!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Mint or Pudina surely has a special place in all the herbs. it has a unique refreshing smell. With its fresh green color it is soothing to eyes. It tastes great. Small amount of mint adds tons of flavor to any dish.
This mint pulao is one of the regular dish in my kitchen. I make it quite frequently and we enjoy it equally every time!!

Cook soaked black eyed beans in pressure cooker. I normally do not soak these beans. In such case, pressure cook it for 3 whistles. Let cooker rest till it cools down. This way beans get cooked nicely under pressure.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Batata song is a delicious konkani dish. My mother in law gave me this recipe. Batata song has a tasty gravy of coconut, red chillies and tamarind. Heat from red chillies and sourness of tamarind form very tasty combination. This tastes great with rice as well as chapati.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Rava idli is simple,easy to make and delicious version of idli. No need to soak,grind and plan in advance. As idli this is specially popular as breakfast item. But sometimes I make it for dinner too. It makes a feeling, healthy with little effort.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

My Bhabhi ( Brother in law's wife) is a fantastic cook. She makes both north and south indian dishes with perfection. She gave me this recipe of dal fry. It is very easy to make dish. Dal fry tastes great with fulka/roti. But the best combination is jeera rice and dal fry.

In my home meal is never complete without chutney. My mom makes different types of dry chutneys from sesame seeds, garlic-coconut, groundnut, just to name a few. These chutneys make very tasty side item in meal. Groundnut chutney has always been on the top of this list. I love to eat it with curd. Hot fulka with this chutney makes a great combination.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tikhat mithachi Puri (called in Marathi) is a spicy version of our favorite Puris. This is my father's favorite breakfast. He just loves how my mom makes this puri. Tikhat mithachi puri can also be a great tea time snack. I hope you also enjoy this dish as much as my family.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Tawa Pulao is one of the famous street foods of Maharashtra. You will find it on many Pav Bhaji stalls in Pune,Mumbai. It is very tasty rice dish.On pav bhaji stalls it is done on same tawa of pav bhaji. Hence tha name 'Tawa Pulao'. If you seek something spicy, this is definitely the dish for you.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Sabudana thalipeeth is one of the most favorite dishes in Maharashtra. It makes a great, tasty breakfast. It is usually made during fasting (Upwas). I remember in my childhood days I used to wait for Ekadashi ( festival on which we fast) so that I get to eat this tasty dish. :)

Sabudana khichdi is one more dish which you can make using same ingredients. Once I had bought sabudana of some new brand. I soaked it for making khichdi. But it became little bit sticky. If sabudana becomes more soft; its khichadi does not come out right. In such situation Thalipeeth is a perfect solution. I made its thalipeeth and it came out wonderful. :) This is one of many recipes which my mom taught me.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Street food is one of the important things I miss in US!!! I am a big fan of all the mouth watering chat dishes.Whenever I walk by any chat stall, I can hardly resist the temptation. Aloo Chana Chat is one such tasty,tangy and easy to make dish.

Ingredients:

1 cup kabuli chana soaked for 5-6 hours

4 medium sized potatoes boiled

1 onion finely chopped

1 tomato finely chopped

coriander leaves finely chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 green chilly finely chopped

1 tsp chat masala

1 tsp red chilli powder

salt

Method:

Peel boiled potatoes and cut into small cubes.

Pressure cook kabuli chana.

When kabuli chana is hot add all the ingredients and mix well. It is this simple :)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Cabbage is one of the least preferred vegetables for most of us. Many people avoid eating cabbage sabji for its smell. If you are not a big fan of any vegetable the best solution is making Paratha :) Cabbage paratha tastes great and its very easy to roll. When I first started making parathas, rolling it was a challenge. But cabbage paratha is the most easy one.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Last weekend during our weekly grocery shopping, I spotted baby potatoes. These small potatoes are so inviting, I do not miss opportunity to buy them. Baby potatoes immediately remind me of 'Dum Aloo'. It makes a pretty heavy lunch. Traditionally in this recipe, potatoes are cooked under pressure ( Dum in hindi) so the name 'Dum Aloo'. I do not cook in the traditional way but this simple recipe tastes great.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Green onion ( Kandyachi pat called in marathi) is famous for its use in most of the Chinese dishes. It adds a great flavor to any salad. Apart from its use in such dishes, it can be cooked in a really tasty vegetable. I learnt this recipe from my mom. It comes very handy when I want to make something real fast. Green onion does not take much time to cook or cut. So its my go to vegetable when I am in hurry.

In this recipe I use 'Goda Masala'. Goda Masala plays a big role in Maharashtrian cooking. It looks similar to Garam Masala and adds wonderful taste and aroma to curries and dals. You can easily get it in grocery stores across Maharashtra and north Karnataka. I was very happy to see it in Indian store here in US. If you can't find it you can use Garam Masala as a substitute in this recipe. The taste will be little different but it will be equally delicious.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Dali saar is one of the most favorite dal in all Konkani homes. I like it for its simplicity. It is easy to cook and full of flavor. Its a recipe which even a new bee in cooking can do comfortably. Dali Saar with rice and any dry sabji or pickle is very satisfying meal with minimal effort!!

Like other dals, basic ingredient in this dish is toor dal. It is little watery hence the name 'Saar'.So if you are big fan of rasam, you will enjoy this dish equally.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Palak (Spinach) is one of my favorite vegetables. It is one of the most versatile vegetable. You can use it in soup, rice, dal, pakode and everything will come out delicious. Aloo Palak is no exception.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Winter is around the corner. We all get craving for something hot when temerature starts dropping. Today's recipe is ideal for such situation.Chana saar upkari is a Konkani dish. Hot chana saar upkari along with rice is comfort food for all the konkanis around the world!! It is an awesome combination of soup like curry and side dish made of black cheakpeas.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Masale Bhat is very popular Maharashtrian dish. It is one thing which you will always find on menu in any Maharashtrian wedding. Whenever we have family function my mom is always requested to make Masale Bhat. So this is my mom's version of Masale Bhat. I hope you also enjoy this dish as much as I do!!

Monday, October 26, 2009

When you say breakfast, Dosa is one thing which is everybody's favourite!! But to make it you need to prepare one day in advance. Today's recipe of Rava dosa is an exception to this. It is the easiest dosa to prepare. No need to soak and grind anything. So this instant dosa recipe is surely worth a try!!

Ingredients:

1 cup Rava

1 cup rice floor

1/2 cup maida

1 Onion

Salt

For Masala (Potato Bhaji) :

4 medium sized potatoes

1 big onion

4 cut green chillies

1 tbsp urad dal

5-6 Curry leaves

1/2 inch ginger

1/2 tea spoon Mustard

1/2 tea spoon Turmeric

1/2 tea spoon jeera

Oil 2 tea spoon

Salt

Method:

Mix all the ingredients for dosa and add water. The consistency of batter should be as of buttermilk.

Apply oil to tava (griddle) .

For any dosa we normally pour batter on griddle and spread it with ladle. But this batter is thin so make dosa by sprinkling the batter on griddle. Make dosa by taking little by little batter in hand and sprinkling on griddle. This way dosa will have a nice net like structure.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

This is a classic Konkani dish. I learnt it after my marriage because this is one of my husband's all time favorite!! Like all other Konkani recipes, coconut is the main ingredient here. So if you love coconut this is a treat for you.

3. Grind together this roasted masala with coconut,tamarind extract, 1 tbsp cooked moong, 3-4 cloves of garlic and water. Add enough water to form a smooth paste.

4. In kadhai add cooked beans and masala paste from the grinder. Add enough water to make the consistency of curry. Heat this till it boils. After it starts boiling, add salt and let it simmer for few minutes.

5.Let the curry boil for 3-4 minutes till it gets mixed up nicely.

6. In the separate kadhai make a seasoning by adding ghee and remaining cloves of garlic. Fry garlic till it turns little bit of brown.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The festival of lights Diwali is just over. Diwali means firecrackers, lamps, rangoli and lots of sweets and snacks. For all the Maharashtrians most enjoyable part of Diwali is Faral!!! This year for the first time I tried doing Faral dishes on my own and to my surprise I enjoyed it alot :) Spicy shankarpali was the first dish which I tried and it came out very well in the first try itself!!

Ingredients:

2 cup Maida

2 tsp Rice floor

1 tsp crushed jeera

2 tsp hot oil plus oil for frying

1-2 tsp chilly powder (as required)

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients.

2. Put 2 tsp hot oil on it and spread so that it covers all the maida.

3. Add water little by little and knead dough. Make sure that you make tight dough with minimum quantity of water.

4. Keep the dough for 30 mins.

5. Roll the dough in the shape of chapati and cut in the shape of rhombus. If you are in India you can easily get cutter for this or you can use Pizza cutter also.

6. Heat oil in kadhai for frying. When the oil is hot fry shankarpali on low to medium heat till they turn golden brown.